Five-Star Feelings

The soft hum of the vending machine next to them offered its condolences as Miyami sniffled again. Work had ended half an hour ago, and both her and Hinoka were in a small, tucked-away park down the street now. They'd gone to get a drink from the machine together, and Miyami was trying her hardest not to break down and cry in front of the other girl. Again.

"Hey, are you feeling any better now?" Hinoka nudged the cold, unopened can of coffee against her cheek.

*boop*

Miyami blinked, her eyes still a little red as she looked over to her ponytailed savior. "…Mn. Thank you, Amahara-san."

Her lips turned upward into a pout, and she leaned forward. "Hey, I thought I told you to start calling me Hinoka now. None of that Amahara-san business. We're close enough for you to do that, aren't we? Or was I mistaken showing you all those kitty pics?"

"!" Miyami quickly nodded, averting her gaze and staring off into the distance, trying not to show her technical junior the mess her face was in as she forcibly ended her pity party.

She'd really liked the kitty pictures.

A gentle breeze blew through the air, carrying with it the smell of the nearby trees and the faint hint of rain as Miyami gathered enough steam.

"…Hinoka." The name finally slipped out.

Admittedly, it still felt foreign on her tongue, but it was comforting, like the pity SSR one would get after blowing ten thousand yen on a gacha roll—undeserved, but coveted.

Hinoka's face lit up a little on hearing it. "Thatta girl. Much better. Was that so hard, Miyami?"

"…yes."

"Ugh, don't be such a brat," Hinoka groaned before smiling again. "Anyway, let's see if we can get that drink opened, yeah? You could probably use the caffeine to help with all the crying, senpai~"

Whatever steam was left over immediately dissipated into the air as Miyami's face grew warm.

She was so mean being teased like this. But also, in a way, she was super sweet and cute and caring and wonderful and—

Miyami shook her head, taking a deep breath and looking down at the can in her hand.

She still needed to get used to hearing her own name from Hinoka as well—alongside the occasional senpai tossed in just to fluster her. She'd stopped calling her 'Weird Lady' after the incident on her second day of work, and now, Miyami's heart raced every time it fell from her lips. It was almost as if she'd leveled up her 5★ Hinoka's reputation to access more support conversations.

But it was fine. She'd get used to it eventually.

Probably.

"You just going to keep staring at the can, or are you going to open it? Your hands are like, shaking so much that I'm half expecting the thing to burst open from the vibrations."

Indignation rose in her chest at the comment. Her hands weren't shaking that much! She could totally—

The dark-haired girl's fingers trembled as she struggled opening it, her thumb and index finger slipping off of the metal tab.

*frustrated bird-like noises*

After fifteen seconds or so of no progress, Hinoka sighed and promptly snatched it away. A moment later, the can popped open with a satisfying hiss, and she pushed it back into Miyami's hands with a flourish and smile.

"Go on, drink up, my dear penguin princess."

Miyami stared at the can in her hand. Penguin? Princess?

"…!" Miyami choked up as a CG image of Hinoka posing triumphantly in a well-fitted suit of armor popped into her mind, gallantly offering her hand to help her up.

She quickly covered her face with her free sleeve, desperate not to stare at that mental image too intensely.

Stupid, indecent brain.

"…?" The ponytailed girl tilted her head to the side, looking confused by Miyami's sudden fidgeting. "Miyami? What is it? Something on your mind?"

Miyami's face felt like it was burning under her friend's gaze. She wanted to hide forever, but the other girl's eyes were locked onto her.

*gulp* She swallowed hard, her heart pounding against her chest like the drums of war. There was no way she could just tell her what was on her mind. No way.

It'd be too embarrassing and stupid and—

"Miyami, come on, spit it out. You could literally tell me anything right now and I'd be fine. It's not like you're confessing to a crime or something, right?"

"…!" Miyami's eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat in panic as she looked down. Was thinking of her beautiful and confident coworker-friend as some sort of knight-in-shining-armor considered a crime?

She suddenly felt a finger under her chin as her view tilted up. "Hey, Miyami, don't look so gloomy. It's fine. You can tell me anything, even the most random, ridiculous nonsense. You know that."

The dark-haired girl's eyes locked onto Hinoka's as the wind ruffled their clothes. The coolness of her touch felt comforting despite the suddenness of it, and she had to resist the urge to lean into it.

Miyami gulped, her throat dry. W-well, if she insisted like that…

"…I-I was t-thinking…" The words pattered out on her tongue half-way through the confession, and her throat choked up.

Nope, it was too embarrassing to say out loud. She couldn't do it.

However, instead of wallowing in her failure, her hands shot to her phone as she quickly typed out her message, the words coming much easier in her preferred method of communication.

*ping!*

"…?" Hinoka blinked at her curiously before she pulled her device out from her pocket.

────────⊳⋆⊲────────

 > Sorry! I was just thinking about how cool you'd look like in a suit of armor!

 > You're just so cool and mature. I'm jealous of you. (╥_╥)

 > When my brain is done being a little frazzled, I'm sure I'll say something less embarrassing.

 > Anyways, thanks again. I really appreciate everything you've done for me. (*^_^*)

────────⊳⋆⊲────────

"Huh? What are you talking about? Cool?" Hinoka chuckled with a smirk as she leaned closer toward her, almost fumbling her own drink in the process with her other hand. "Crap. Uh, you see that? I'm not that cool."

"…" Miyami just stared at Hinoka, her expression turning deadpan.

She had to be kidding.

The ponytailed girl's smirk grew into a grin, and she cackled. "Hey, c'mon, don't make me out to be something that I'm not. I'm just a normal girl who's a little brash, a little too easily caught up in the moment, a little too quick to jump to conclusions, a little bit of an emotional train wreck—"

Miyami instinctually pushed her finger up to Hinoka's tantalizing close lips, effectively shushing her as their eyes locked together. She couldn't bear to hear her downplay her amazingness.

"…"

Erm, she'd meant to just stop her from rambling on, but now Miyami was acutely aware of the soft, velvety skin against the pad of her finger, and the way that Hinoka's mouth was slightly ajar.

The two of them existed there, stunned, as a few leaves drifted down from the tree they were under.

"…" This was bad, wasn't it?

This was really, really bad.

She had to say something, anything, to get her out of this awkward situation, but her mouth felt dry, and her tongue was heavy as a brick—

*nibble*

A shiver traveled up her arm and spine at the new, alarming sensation. Had Hinoka just—

She had just—

"Kyaaa!" Miyami's voice broke out in a high pitch squeal as she yanked her hand back, her entire being quivering as she stared at her slightly damp finger in disbelief.

Hinoka snickered, and Miyami's cheeks burned bright at the teasing laugh. She'd been tricked. She'd been duped. She'd fallen into this bewitching woman's trap and lost her sanity in the process.

Another rogue thought of Hinoka confidently strutting toward her in heavy violet robes, her hair flowing behind her in a regal cascade of magical light brown, flitted through her head.

Ack, no! Now she was imagining alternate Hinoka 5★'s too? And a hot formal mage one at that?

Just how rotted was her brain?!

"Did you like my little gift?" her colleague asked, the playful smirk still on her face. "Ah, you should’ve seen the look on your face."

"…" Miyami bunched up the fabric of her shorts at the comment, and she had to turn away in shame.

"…Oh, um, w-was that a bit too much?" Hinoka's voice wavered, her confidence immediately faltering as the mood shifted. "S-sorry! I was just having some fun. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Er, I'll just uh, make this up to you with another drink or—"

Miyami didn't know what possessed her to do it, but her arm acted on its own. Her fingers wrapped around the other girl's shirt sleeve, and she gave it a tiny tug, pulling her right in front of her face.

They breathed the same air for a moment, and Miyami could feel the warmth radiating off the girl's skin.

Crap. What was she doing?!

Had she lost her mind?

Quick, Miyami. Say something. Anything!

"…Y-you're fine. It was just… unexpected…"

Hinoka gulped suddenly as if suppressing a gasp, and her voice came out softer than usual, like a gentle breeze before a summer evening.

"…o-okay…"

"!!!" Huh?! What was that tiny voice she'd just heard?!

Had she just made Hinoka shy?!?!

They stared at each other for a long while, neither sure what to do as they took in the moment's senses.

Miyami could smell the faint scent of coffee mixed with the flowery fragrance from Hinoka's shampoo, and her eyes were mesmerized by Hinoka's amber irises, tinged with flecks of gold and orange.

They were so close to each other—mere centimeters away. Miyami really needed to pull back now before something even more awkward happened—

*bzzt*

*♫ 'Go for it, honey! Be your confident self—' ♫*

*SHRIEK!*

Miyami's heart leapt out of her chest as her new message tone went off, and she scrambled for her phone, knocking over her drink and nearly dropping her device in the process.

WHY WAS HER PHONE BETRAYING HER SO OFTEN RECENTLY?!

"A-ah, is that the new message tone you put?" Hinoka's face broke out into an amused smile as Miyami let her go, her earlier shock and nervousness somewhat vanishing. "I mean, that is rather adorable."

"…!!!" Miyami let out an involuntary squeak, and her face flushed crimson once more. She was going to die from embarrassment.

W-who the heck was messaging her anyway?!

She tapped on her phone, her eyes scanning the screen. The notification was from one of her gachas. An event banner was starting tomorrow.

"…" Some of the tension left her body as she read the details.

Oh hey, that's yuri themed.

Neat.